Off limits?!






Diu, a small island on the western tip of India and an overnight journey from Ahmedabad, where I stay, is a former Portuguese colony that retains some of the old world charm even today. I spent a lovely weekend there a few days back, enjoying the sea, sun and sand. And getting pissed drunk at night. And making pictures, of course...! One of the popular tourist attractions in Diu is the fort which once housed the cellular jail- home to several prominent 'reactionaries' during India's freedom struggle.

This odd juxtaposition of elements caught my eye at the entrance to the fort. A 'NO ENTRY' sign, a couple of cannons and several assorted cannon-balls seemingly announcing 'Bugger off! You've no business being here!!' and a stalk of flowers nestling among the cannons as if to say 'Don't take us seriously, we're all about the sun and sand, really...'

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Diu Fort and Cellular Jail, Diu.
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Stairway to heaven?




Just wondering; is this what a stairway to heaven would look like? Framed by an elaborately, and intricately, carved arch and solid, brass-studded, mahogany doors? An ethereal figure-in-white ascending before you as you await your turn, next?

Temples, mosques, churches- all purport to get you closer to heaven, and to God. Do they? Really? Just wondering...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Jain temple at Khaaraa Kuwa ni Pol, Near Fernandes Bridge, Ahmedabad.
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A quiet sunday afternoon in the pols




The modern city of Ahmedabad was founded, on the banks of the river Sabarmati, by Ahmed Shah Abdali in the year 1142AD or thereabouts. Over centuries the city has changed much, as most cities are wont to, now spanning a good 20 kilometers or so from one end to another; The 52 gates (or Darwaze), which at one time stood sentinels to the outermost periphery of the city's walled defences, now lie battered and buried in the very heart of a city bursting at its seams.

Given the harsh climate (often over 45 degrees celsius in the summer with only a month or so of monsoons in a year) and the lay of the land (leeward side of the mountains and all that) the city has evolved, over centuries, into a tightly woven warp and weft of intertwining, narrow streets called Pols with tightly packed houses bordering each side of the street; the architecture and street planning especially suited to battling the mostly harsh, arid climate. The newer, sattelite townships that have sprung up in recent years, of course, bear no resemblance to the Ahmedabad of old, but that is another matter entirely. The pols have always harboured vibrant, tight knit communities and even today continue to be the throbbing center of commerce and trade in the city. That apart, the way of life as typified by the pol is rapidly on the decline even as several organisations including the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Alliance Francaise have been working for years to restore the pols to their former glory and have the entire walled city declared a World Heritage Site.

Sunday afternoons in the pols, though, tend to be a mostly quiet affair with most of the shops downing their shutters and most people prefering to sit out the afternoon heat in the relative comfort of their homes. This picture was taken on a typical pol sunday as I sat outside a closed shop smoking a cigarette, looking out at the world and it struck me that here in the pols, despite the outward degradation, not much has changed since the days of Ahmed Shah...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Near Fernandes Bridge, Off Gandhi Road, Ahmedabad.
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Idle tears...




I met this little girl on one of my usual jaunts in the heart of old Ahmedabad. She sat there, comfortably ensconed in her grandfather's lap yet, inexplicably, and inconsolably, crying.

I tried the usual gamut of 'kiddy chatter' to get her attention and, maybe, make her give up the bawling. Nothing worked. Until I took my camera and started fiddling with the controls, that is!

This is a picture of her, tears still wet on her cheeks, but curiosity most certainly aroused. I'd like to think that after I walked away she forgot about crying for a bit.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Near Fernandes Bridge, Ahmedabad.
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